Chapter 10
A Confession and a Savior
After a few hours, Ignacio started to slow down. He let Rosaline slide off of his back, then he shifted.
“I thought that Orion wanted us to go to the far west. You went east.”
“Yes, you are right, but we need a wide net to pinpoint where they are.”
“Perhaps they are not in the country. I believe that we lost contact with Kendra while she was away, so there is a chance that the Unwashed have not penetrated our borders.”
“There is a chance, but it is only slightly higher than the chance that there are no Unwashed in Solona.”
“But we know they have infiltrated Solona.”
“Yes.” Ignacio was pacing around the area, his hands moving rapidly.
The next few days, he looked over things and drew symbols that Rosaline couldn’t begin to understand. Periodically, he would pull things out of the space, then replace it with something else. While he worked, she made food so that he didn’t starve. Uncertain why, she was surprised when he finally approached her.
She was entrenched as his green eyes looked down at her, completely ignoring the world around them. “I am aware that this is a very, very inopportune time, but I …” Ignacio stepped close to her. “I know my limits, and I know how risky this is going to be. If anything should happen, I don’t want to have any regrets.”
“I swore that you wouldn’t die. I cannot fail Orion.” She tried to smile back to reassure Ignacio that she would protect him.
“You have always been so sweet. A little thick sometimes, but unbelievably sweet.” He put a hand on her face, “I know that you don’t believe in the path you are on. You hid the doubt well, almost no one else noticed.”
“But you… you knew?” Rosaline looked up at him.
He smiled and nodded, “Yes. I could tell that you were never certain, and I think that your instincts are right. I think that there is a different path for you. But I might just be selfish.”
Rosaline tried to laugh, “You are the least selfish person I know. You never wanted recognition, and I know that you continually kept our group from fighting, even if no one else noticed. You were always taking care of anyone, and never wanted anything in return.”
He looked away for a moment, “Please be careful with your words, because when you are kind like that, it gives me hope.”
“Hope is good. Isn’t it?”
“Rosaline, I love you.”
She looked at him for a moment, then she let a smile spread across her face. “I love you too, Ignacio.”
“No, Rosaline, I don’t love you the way that I love others. What I feel for you is not that kind of love. I want to be more for you, and I want you to be more for me.”
Rosaline’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “Ignacio, I—I’m a priestess.”
“I know, Rosaline. I know that you have taken the vows, but it isn’t too late. I want to show you what you have missed being cooped up in that little place, to see you smile like you did when you thought no one was watching while we traveled with the group. You didn't like Dulce at first, but after a few days, you warmed up to her, and there was a whole other side to you that was so… lovable. I want to help you live the kind of life you deserve so that you don’t live a life you don’t want.”
Rosaline slowly shook her head, “I can’t. I can’t, Ignacio. I’m sorry.” Tears began to well up in her eyes.
A gentle yank, and she found her face buried in his chest. “You don’t need to be sorry. I feared—I knew that you likely wouldn’t feel the same way. Thank you for listening to me because I know it wasn’t something you wanted to hear. Thank you.” He kissed the top of her head and let her go. He turned away from her, “I have another day or two worth of work to do, then we will be ready to go to the western side.”
Rosaline nodded her head, and walked toward a little path to try to understand what had just happened and why it hurt.
When the sun rose, she heard a gentle call, “Rosaline. It is your turn now.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “What’s my turn?”
There was a quiet laugh, “I need to start drawing out your powers. Since you weren’t there for long after they began suppressing your magic, and it has been a few days, I can start to draw out the magic needed to cover the entire country.”
“My magic isn’t that strong.”
“Not on its own, no.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Come on. I’ll explain it as I weave the web.”
“What web?”
“Hold your hands out like this.” He placed his hand about level with her shoulders, only a foot or so from his chest.
Rosaline did as she was told. Ignacio locked his fingers in hers and closed his eyes. She watched him intently as he began to mumble something in a language she didn’t know. The warmth of his soft hands made it difficult to focus, and she found her eyes drifting to the connection. When he let go, a chill went down her spine.
“The magic is being drawn from you, and is probably making you feel a little cold. You will start to warm up soon, just give it a few seconds.” His eyes were closed, and as soon as he was done explaining, he returned to muttering in the strange language. Rosaline closed her eyes and listened to his voice. Over time it got harder to hear him, so she opened her eyes. There were thin blue lines stretching as far as she could see to her left and right. The lines stretched out like a grid and ended at Ignacio, who was slowly walking backwards away from her. His words were flowing faster and his voice rose, causing the lines to hum. The assassin took a large step back and pulled his hands back quickly. The blue lines shot past him and moved along into the distance. The entire world looked like it existed on a grid now. Rosaline walked toward a small beach. She could see the lines running out into the water, but they appeared to stop only a few miles from the shore.
“Now we need to head to the west to see if Orion was right about their location.”
“Why did we come east if we are going west?”
“Because the corresponding magic on this side of the country is stronger than on the western side. That is why the druids live on the eastern side, and why your abilities are stronger the further east you go.”
“Oh, they are making sure that we can see results, but don’t get lazy. We have to work to do magic, but not as hard. I’m glad that it was a little easier for you since you have spent days preparing.”
Ignacio gave her a mirthless smile, “I’m an assassin, so I don’t use life magic.”
Rosaline mouth opened a little, “Then… we should have started on the western side.”
“It was easier to draw your magic out and cut it off when the grid was ready.”
“But wouldn’t it have taken less time?”
“No, the process isn’t a quick one, no matter what the base magic.” He began feeling the air in the spaces between the grid.
“But it would have been easier for you.” Rosaline followed him, passing through the blue lines as they moved.
“And it would have been painful for you.”
“If it would have hurt me, then you could have told me. I could have managed it.”
“I couldn’t have. Ah, here we are.” He wiggled his fingers, then brought them together. Slowly, he spread them apart and a hole began to open in the air in front of them.
“What is that?” Rosaline wished for a moment that she was brave enough to stick her hand into the space, but she wasn’t.
“Follow me.” Ignacio stepped into it. She could see him walking away on the other side. Rosaline looked back at the beach and frowned. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through.
Ignacio was touching some of the lines. This time they ended on land. “Everything past this belongs to our lovely neighbors.”
“I didn’t know we had neighbors.”
Ignacio let out short laugh, “I’m not surprised. Please come over here. I need to make sure that it isn’t still drawing from you.”
Rosaline did as he asked. As she approached him, she noticed that he wouldn't look at her. “Are you mad at me?”
“No,” his eyes moved to hers for a moment, “not mad. I have never been mad at you, even when you were at your most frustrating.” He moved his hands around her body, and she could feel the movement around her. She closed her eyes for a moment and imagined what would happen if he accidently brushed her. Shocked at the thought, her eyes flew open.
Rosaline stepped away. “What can I do to help?”
“Just stay nearby.” Ignacio walked toward the hole and closed it.
“What was that?”
“A time hole. Like the ones that the Unwashed used, but one which was completely controlled. I noticed that time is not flowing the same way in different places, and that would explain why. The Unwashed are opening and leaving the holes everywhere. At the moment, Darius and Itzel are destroying a nest in Solona because they have moved past several time holes. What felt like three weeks to them was only about one and a half for us.”
“Why are they destroying a nest? How do you even know?”
“Because of Darius’s ability.”
Rosaline shook her head, “I don’t know what you mean.”
“And it is not my place to explain it. He saved Itzel and himself, and they will return in less than two weeks.”
“Will we be done looking for Unwashed by then?”
“Absolutely. We will be done by the end of tomorrow.”
“So, we can go home?” Rosaline wasn’t sure that was quite what she wanted, but she knew that Ignacio was acting weird. That made her nervous.
“No, that isn’t my mission.”
“We were asked to find out if they have managed to slip into the country. If we find them, we are going to need to get help to eradicate them.”
“Good idea. I will let you devise the plan.”
“Okay!” Rosaline sat down at a little picnic table. “It is really nice over here. It is a shame that we don’t spend time here. The fresh air is nice, and the scenery is so beautiful.” Her eyes wandered over the horizon.
“I’m sure the panther shifters would be happy to hear that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Panther shifters live on this side of the country. They keep the restless neighbors from invading. If they didn’t live here, druids would spend a lot more time at war. Instead, the panthers protect the life the druids have grown accustomed to living.”
Rosaline watched him for a while. The way he talked was almost robotic, and the druid began to get a feeling about his past. “Did you grow up on this side of the country?”
“Yes.”
“Your parents died fighting in one of the wars.”
“Yes.”
“Who raised you?”
“No one person. I was passed around for a while, until I reached an age where I could take care of myself.”
“How old were you?”
Ignacio stopped what he was doing and looked over at her, “Why do you want to know?”
“Because I am curious.”
He turned back around, “You can ask Orion. I really do not care to relive my past.”
“Isn’t it good to talk about things if they bother you?”
“Yes. But I have faced my past, and there is nothing else for me to learn. All it can do is refresh the wounds.”
Rosaline had lost her father at a young age, but she had always had her mother. Even though her mother was not a high priestess, they never wanted for anything. It was difficult to imagine that someone as capable and competent as Ignacio hadn’t had anyone to guide him.
“I want to know,” she whispered to her hands, knowing that he could not hear her.
Rosaline tried to stay busy, getting water for both of them and planning how best to get people to listen to them while Ignacio looked for the Unwashed. The priestesses were going to be furious, but with the threat in their own country, they would have to accept her disregard for the rules.
As he had said, Ignacio found them the next day in the early morning. “Alright, time to show them that they have overstepped their abilities.”
“Right. I have a plan to convince them to start sending people to take care of the Unwashed. It might take a bit, and I know that no one is going to listen to me. But if you talk to them, I’ve worked out how we can get people moving within a week.” She smiled at Ignacio.
“You have done well,” he flashed a smile. “Time to get you back home.”
“I need to know where they are so that we can send people down to face them.”
Ignacio simply shook his head.
“Did you want to tell them? That is probably best, since they aren’t going to listen to me.”
Ignacio looked down at her, “Be careful with the path you choose because you can’t undo the past.”
Rosaline frowned at him for a second, then a thought occurred to her. “Oh, you are going to be sent, too, aren’t you? But you haven’t slept at all in days. You will need to rest up well before you go.”
He simply patted her on the head, “I can’t open the hole near your home, but it won’t be more than a couple hours’ walk.”
“Okay. I think we should be alright to walk for a few hours. I won’t ask you to shift because I know you must be tired.”
“Not particularly.” He held out a hand, “I’ll lead you through.”
“I’ll follow you. Like last time.” She smiled at him.
“No, I’m not going.”
“What do you mean? We have to let them know that the Unwashed are here.”
“Yes, you do. But my mission does not end with notification.”
It felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach as Rosaline realized what he meant. “No, Ignacio, I swore to Orion that I would protect you. You have to come back with me and convince them of the problem.”
Ignacio started to laugh, “Tell the druids that their lands have been invaded? And how long do you think it is going to take them to accept that? Think about how long it took them to agree to send someone to another country after receiving an invitation. Druids don’t do anything quickly, and in this instance, it will get everyone killed. Orion knew the risks, and there is a reason why he knew it had to be me. Assassins work with druids, but that doesn’t mean we trust you, or that we have to do what you say. Now please, step through the portal before I have to force you through it.”
Rosaline felt something slide down her face, and she brushed it away. “You can’t force me to go back without you. If you did, you would never be allowed back into the druids’ realm.”
“You mean I wouldn’t be allowed back into that little prison?” His eyes were cold as he looked down at her. “The druids may claim Marlyon, but it is the panther shifters who protect it. We are the ones who manage the people and the problems outside of your little compound. I can live with never stepping foot in that place again.”
Rosaline was at a loss for words. When she shook her head as he tried to usher her through the hole, Ignacio began to get impatient.
“There is no reason for you to stay with me. You have no ability to use your own magic, which was the only reason Orion insisted on you coming with me.”
“You knew that I couldn’t do anything, but you brought me anyway.”
“I knew that I could use you to create the grid and to make sure I ate. If you weren’t here, I would have skipped meals, which would have slowed me down.”
“You wanted to have me with you so that you could confess how you felt.” She narrowed her eyes, “Orion gave you a situation where you could say what you wanted to say and then get rid of me if I said no.”
Ignacio looked away, “I told you that I was being selfish. You were the one who didn’t want to believe me. Now you know, so please step through and go let them know.”
“No one will arrive in time to help you. Darius isn’t there to tell, and I… don’t believe that any of the druids will do anything for a while.”
“I don’t need help.”
“They killed Legend, Ignacio. Legend. You wanted to be a champion because of him, but he lost against the Unwashed. They found and managed to kill Kendra. Both of them had centuries, and they still failed. I swore to Orion, and I’m not going to watch you walk into your own death.”
Ignacio looked at her, his green eyes much colder than she had ever seen in person. “I will not force you through the hole, but I won’t leave it open for you either.” With a smooth flow of his hand, the hole was closed. He walked toward another small section of the grid.
Rosaline looked around, “The lines are getting fainter.”
“They are no longer required.” He stood with his back to her so that she could not see what he was doing.
Rosaline watched him, wondering what he planned to do. “Are they a long way from here?”
He shrugged, “Depends on how you define a long way.” Ignacio turned and looked at her. He stretched out his arm, “If you walk that way for a few days, you will return home. You can probably start to use your magic with a little more ease in a day to a day and a half. I broke a couple of the bindings around it, so moving east will make it easy for you to finish removing them if you are willing to accept the consequences. If not,” he licked his lips, “it will only take you an extra year to reach the point in your path where you won’t be able to go back. So you know, I have no intention of dying, so you don’t need to feel guilty if that happens. Farewell, Rosaline.” Before she could move, he fell backward into a small hole that had been behind him. By the time she realized what had happened, he had already closed it.
“No.” Rosaline’s eyes looked at the place where Ignacio had been until a few seconds ago. “No. No. No!” She ran forward and tried to find any sign of the hole through which he had disappeared. “NO!” she yelled into the air. Rosaline had no idea where he had gone and no way to follow him physically. “This is not what I agreed to. You kept encouraging to do things my way instead of a way that someone else chose, and then you do this!” She clenched her fists, “I don’t accept this path.”
Lying down on the ground, she forced her mind into a state of rest, which took far longer considering her emotional state. When she was finally able to separate herself from her body, Rosaline looked for Ignacio. It took almost no time at all to find him, and he was already striking down Unwashed with a coldness that seemed surreal. No emotion showed on his face as his blades danced through man after man. As Rosaline drew near, she noticed that he was not entirely unhurt, though. There were cuts in the cloth, but the dark material made it impossible to see any blood. Unable to tell how serious his wounds were, she pulled more of herself out of her body.
There didn’t seem to be an end to the number of Unwashed. Her head turned to a cave, and she knew that they had managed to create a foothold. “They were able to do it here. The druids were so certain it was impossible. Perhaps they aren’t far beyond the boundary, but they proved that they could do it.”
The druids had believed that they would be safe, but she knew that they would not act in time. Ignacio had gone in alone to face them and kill as many as he could on his own.
She felt something flowing down her cheeks, but knew it couldn’t be real tears. Too much of her body was miles away. Stretching out her hand, Rosaline attempted to impede a small group trying to prepare a couple of rows of archers against the assassin. Of course they were prepared for something like an assassin—the Unwashed were in assassin territory. That was what Marlyon really was—it was the panthers’ lands. They let the druids live there, not the other way around.
The magic seemed to fizzle before anything could happen. Rosaline pushed her consciousness close to them, then tried again. All of the time around them seemed to slow, causing the men to look more like statues than people. “Ugly statues,” she muttered as she tried to figure out how to get rid of them. Adjusting their positions, Rosaline made sure that any of the archers ready to shoot had their weapons pointed at another member of the Unwashed. Of course they could see what they were about to do, but all she had to do was allow time to flow as it was meant to.
Pulling away from them, she watched as more than half of the archers shot each other. The remaining men were looking for her. She began looking around for other threats to Ignacio. With so many choices, she decided the best thing to do was to try to get near him. If she could slow time around him, he wouldn’t get hurt again.
Ignacio had managed to make his way close to the cave opening. He shifted and launched himself toward a ledge on the rock over the cave. Arrows tried to hit him, but he was too swift. He managed to reach a tree and climbed to a solid branch. Rosaline could tell that his injuries were beginning to hurt him as his gait and movements began to show fatigue and pain. He shifted back into his human form and stretched out a hand. With his eyes intent on the mountain, he did not see the men running toward him. One of them notched an arrow and shot it at him. It landed well under his position, but the archer was already notching another one. Suddenly rock around the cave began to shudder. All eyes turned toward it. Rosaline’s eyes moved to his hand, which was slowly closing into a fist. As if in response, the mountain began to crash in on itself, with indents that looked like they were made by large fingers. A sigh echoed around the area right before the entire rock fell into the ground, leaving a crater where it had once been.
There was a loud shriek from the remaining Unwashed because everything they had done to establish a foothold had been undone.
Too many of them remained for him to be able to take them all down. Pushing herself as much as possible out of her body, she began to materialize near the base of the tree. The Unwashed knew about Ignacio, but they did not that he wasn’t alone. The first few rushed out of the undergrowth and faced an enraged Rosaline. She had no desire to put them in a time loop or give them a chance to repent. A hot flash shot out of her body and plowed through the men. Unfortunately, the tree was within range. Realizing too late, Rosaline stretched a hand out toward Ignacio, who was plummeting toward a large fire. His fall was broken as she created a large water bubble around, extinguishing the fire as soon as he struck it.
Rosaline turned her attention back to the next round of Unwashed, starting to peek out from the places where they were when the fire nearly took them.
“Rosaline!”
She turned to see Ignacio flying at her. He struck her, pulling her to his body. They stopped rolling on the hard-packed ground. His vision looked unfocused. Rosaline looked down at him, “What’s wrong? Your eyes! Ignacio, what’s—”
Before she could finish, he reached behind her and shoved her through into the storage space.
Rosaline froze for a minute, trying to process what had happened. Her subconscious was locked in a strange cosmic storage area while her body lay unconscious miles away. Now that she was more aware of it, every part of her ached.
This is what Darius was warning me about. Shit. She clawed at the air, trying to open a space back to the real world. Focusing on her body, she finally managed to fall out and into her own body. Everything felt wrong as stood up. It was like she was made of liquid and trying to walk with only a thin wrapper keeping her together.
“I don’t have time for that.” Pushing the physical pains and discomfort aside, she started clawing at the air. It took a couple of tries, but it finally opened when she focused on the empty space. She dove in and lay there, calling to mind the only thing that mattered at that moment. A picture of Ignacio smiling at her caused her to let out a sob. His face shifted to one of concern. Rosaline stretched out her arms to try to hug him to let him know she was alright.
Her arms wrapped around him and pulled him to her. “No,” she muttered. “I was wrong.” She opened her eyes and looked at the large number of Unwashed still trying to get at Ignacio. Leaving him in the space, she slipped out. As soon as she hit the ground, Rosaline released decades of frustration, doubt, pain, and longing. The waves of the negative emotion moved out like shock waves, crashing over the Unwashed and any unlucky animals within a five-mile radius. Shakily, she pushed herself off of the ground. Around her were all of the remaining Unwashed, doubled over under the weight of the burdens she had carried most of her life—a life that was longer than any human’s.
Her hand reached out to the space, but she found it difficult to grasp. Closing her eyes, she let all of the images of Ignacio flow through her mind. When she finally managed to open the space, Rosaline wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to take before her body revolted from all of the punishment and magic she had used. She hadn’t even noticed when she broke the remaining bonds, but Rosaline was becoming more aware of it, like a muscle that wasn’t used to being exercised.
She started to swoon and felt a pair of arms wrap around her. “Just what have you done to yourself?” Rosaline looked up into a familiar pair of green eyes. “And what have you done to them?”
Rosaline reached out a hand and patted his cheek, “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
He looked down at her, then Rosaline felt a warm hand on her forehead. “That feels good,” she mumbled.
The sound of his laughter was like a beautiful melody in her ears. “Give me one minute to finish them off, and I will be back for you.”
Rosaline felt herself being gently laid down, then everything was silent. A few moments later, she felt warmth being pressed against her. “You know, in all of the years that I have been using this space, it never once dawned on me that it could be used like this.” Rosaline felt an arm wrap around her. “Are you alright?”
She rolled over and buried her face in his chest, “I am now.”
“What did you do?”
“Darius called it, um, something something something. Can’t I just sleep for a little bit?”
“Of course. But maybe somewhere a little less cosmic.”
Rosaline opened her eyes a little and gave those beautiful green eyes a lopsided grin, “I don’t want to go back to that place. I want to stay with you.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t hold you to that, but for now, I can take you somewhere a little less hostile to a fallen priestess.”
“Your place?”
“What?”
She nuzzled against him, “I want to go to your place.”
There was a welcome laugh before Ignacio said, “Okay. You can stay at my place for a little while. Until you know what you are going to do.”
Rosaline felt herself being lifted out of the area. A moment later, she was resting on a soft bed. She grabbed the warmth before it could pull away from her. “Don’t leave me. I don’t want you to leave me.”
There was a sigh before the surface under her shifted. “You are going to torment me now, aren’t you?”
“Only if you let me.” She didn’t hear what he said, as she pushed her body into him.
When Rosaline finally woke up, she was alone in the bed. Nothing looked right. She scratched her head and asked, “Where am I?”
She was shocked when her question received an answer. “My home, as promised.”
Rosaline sat up and looked around. The place was small, but larger than her quarters. Ignacio rose from the table where he sat. “How much do you remember?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her temple. “Um, I remember yelling ‘no’ a lot, but can’t remember why.”
He nodded and pulled a chair over near the bed. “Come here.”
Rosaline scooted over close to the edge of the bed. “Can I help you?” She gave him a sleepy smile.
“Yes, you can eat. Apparently, you need a certain combination of nutrients to help your body and mind sync up.”
“Ooooh, did I do that thing again?” She leaned forward and ate a spoonful of something. “Hmmm, that’s really good. Tastes a lot like what Darius made.”
“So, he knew that you could manifest away from your body?”
“Yes, that’s what he called it, something manifesting. Manifesting something? I don’t remember.”
“Did he mention that it is really dangerous and that people tend to die when they do it?”
Rosaline looked at the ceiling, “That sounds familiar.”
“Then why did you do it? I promised I would protect you, and you almost killed yourself.”
“Then we are even because I promised to keep you safe, and you tried to make me a liar.”
Ignacio looked at her then burst out laughing, “Okay, so now I know that those times when I thought that I was suffering from guilt and doubt, that was you stalking me.”
Rosaline opened her mouth, “No, that was definitely your guilt, manifesting me because, um, I make you feel guilty?”
“You saw me wake up in Ishtar.”
“Yep, yep, I did that until Darius slammed me back into my body. He wrapped me in a time blanket to get my mind and body to sync.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about, but I will try to keep that in mind.”
“He also fed me something like that.” She took another mouthful of the soup. “I like yours better.”
“Somehow I doubt that you really remember what that first time was like since you were several thousand miles from your body.”
“I also saw you purging after you drew the poison. I shouldn’t have asked you to do that because you aren’t a… poison filter.”
“I would laugh if I weren’t so mortified that you saw that.”
“I felt so guilty, but then you fell asleep. When I got back to my body I was too tired to do anything. Otherwise I would have come and brought you back to camp.”
“You couldn’t lift me with those little arms.” He gave her upper arm a squeeze. “But thank you for staying. My question is how did you heal me?”
Rosaline frowned, “I didn’t. You purged and that was it.”
“No, I mean how did you heal me during the fight with the Unwashed?”
“You call that a fight? You massacred them. Serves them right for trying to kill you.” She fell forward.
Ignacio placed the bowl down and tried to steady her. “I cannot take that as a compliment.”
“You should take it as a sign that you are the ultimate protector. But you shoved me into a cosmic space. Why did you do that?”
“You were about to be hit by a few poisoned arrows. I will never let them get anything into your body. No Unwashed will be able to try to control you as long as I draw breath.”
“You shoved me into the cosmic space, and I found my body. Then I stuffed that sucker into the cosmic space and went looking for you. I thought of all the faces you make and all of the times you cared when no one else did, and then I found you. There was something wrong with you, but I didn’t care. I pulled you into the space and left you alone to think about how you left me alone.” She pointed to herself, “Then I taught them why they were a bunch of ignorant fools by giving them a blast of my lifetime of regrets and doubt. They didn’t take it very well.”
“That’s what you hit them with? Negative emotions?” He was looking at her incredulously.
“Yes, because they couldn’t take it. They want power, and that took all of their power away. Then I thought about you again and all of the ways that you look at me, and there you were, looking back at me from the cosmic space. This time you looked just fine. Or handsome. You are always handsome. But you looked fine because you were unhurt.”
“Uh, you healed me by shoving me into the cosmic space and imagining me as I was?”
Rosaline wrapped her arms around him, “I’ve been poisoned.”
That got his attention. “That isn’t possible. I made sure none of the arrows touched you. Show me the wound.”
“No, I need you to help me get the poison out.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“You don’t have any idea what you are asking for.”
“Yes, I do. I am poisoned, and you need to help work it out of my system.”
“And now you are just being silly. I will rest with you until you get to sleep.”
“I’m poisoned,” she moaned pitifully as he moved her over on the bed.
“Is this what you were like in front of Darius?”
“No, he was all serious and tragically handsome, so he made me tragically serious, too.”
“You seem like you are drunk right now.”
“I’ve never been drunk. But I’m poisoned, and you are just going to let me die after pretending to love me.”
A warm pair of lips caused her to stop talking and look up. “I do love you, and that is why I am not going to do anything of the sort.”
She groaned and rolled so that her back faced him. Before she knew it, Rosaline was asleep again.
Several days passed and she returned to something more closely resembling normal.
They sat at the table eating a late dinner. Ignacio had left a few times to clean up the mess and report what had happened. When he refused to say where Rosaline was, he was told not to return to the druids’ home until he was willing to help them find her.
“They are in quite the tizzy looking for you. As much as I enjoy having you here, you will have to go back. You know that, right?” Ignacio smiled at her.
“Yes, I will, but I won’t stay.”
“What will you do?”
Rosaline sighed, “I am formulating my new path. It’s not as easy as you would think, changing paths at such an old age.”
“Oh yes, you are quite the old woman.” He reached over and picked up her plate. Ignacio went to the sink and began to clean.
Rosaline moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. She pressed her face against his back. “Once upon a time, an assassin asked me a question.”
“I’m certain that several assassins have asked you questions. Which time do you mean?”
Rosaline bumped her head against his back, “Fine. Once upon a time, an assassin asked a druid a question. The druid was a bit thick and couldn’t see what a lot of other people saw, so when he asked her the question, she got scared. Later, he opened his heart and told her more and asked her the question again.” She felt Ignacio stiffen in her arms, and she knew that he was nervous about what she was going to say. “She was such a foolish, foolish girl that she turned down the best thing that ever happened to her. After the assassin nearly died, she realized that the worst thing she had ever done was refuse him. Not only was he hurt, but so was she. So she decided to try to make it right.”
“What did she do?”
“She confronted the assassin and admitted she was a fool.”
“And what did he do?” Ignacio’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
“She’s still waiting for his answer.”
Ignacio put the dish down and dried his hands. Carefully, he pulled her hands away from his stomach, then turned to face her. “So, are you going to confront me?”
Rosaline stood on her toes and kissed him. Ignacio stood still, his eyes wide open as he looked at her.
Rosaline smiled, “Ignacio, I was a fool. An idiot. And so much worse. I saw you with Dulce and got so jealous, but didn’t understand that. Whenever you left, I had to follow you because I hate being separated from you. I love you.” With that, she jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around him and kissing him.
At first they were both a little awkward as they worked through their first kiss. Rosaline giggled and put her face in his neck. “I never thought I would kiss anyone.”
“Yes, it is actually more challenging than it looks.” He brushed her hair back. “I feel certain that between our brains and abilities, we’ll be able to figure it out.”
“Now will you work the poison out of my system?” She looked into his eyes and noticed his face went a brilliant shade of red.
“No, no, no. You don’t—that is—it doesn’t mean quite what you think it means. And I can assure you that no poison got into your system, I’ve checked nearly every day.”
“You missed a spot.”
“I can assure you that you are fine.”
“Draven and Haiden were more than happy to help the women they loved.”
“Well, yes, but I can protect you better and you won’t ever need to worry about it. The Unwashed will never be able to get to you.”
“Can you pretend that I have been poisoned?”
The different shades of pink and red that Ignacio’s face could change to were staggering as he tried to navigate the conversation. “Look, it’s a very intimate process.”
“I know. Haiden told me that it meant that he and Harmony—”
“Oh my gods!” Ignacio kissed her to get Rosaline to be quiet. She moved her body up and down on his, trying to pull him into a deeper kiss. He pulled away from her, “Are you sure?”
“I’ve found my path, and it is right next to yours. If you will have me.”
Ignacio looked into her eyes. Brushing her hair out of her face, he wrapped an arm around her waist and another slid down her hair and rested on her shoulders. Slowly, he walked toward the bed. He lay her down and began kissing her neck. Rosaline pressed her body against his. “I love you, Ignacio.”
“I love you, Rosaline.” He slowly worked his clothes off as his hands moved along her body.
She giggled a little, “That tickles.”
“Good to know. I will save that information for a later time.” He began to remove her top and bra. When that proved to be more difficult than he expected, he ripped them apart. “I will buy you two new ones.” His mouth covered her nipple and Rosaline let out a little scream and pushed her hips into his. She wrapped her feet around his thighs, and began to stroke them.
Ignacio moaned and pulled her body to his. “I am trying to go slowly, but you are making it so hard.”
She giggled, “Isn’t that the whole idea?”
“Oh, you little…” He pressed his mouth to hers as he began to slide into her.
Rosaline flinched, but the pain quickly gave way to a completely new sensation. Her hand went into his hair, and she screamed. “Yes! Oh gods, more!”
Ignacio carefully worked into her, bringing her to climax several times before he couldn’t hold it in anymore. Before he could pull away from her, Rosaline pulled him to her, urging him to release inside her. He placed his head in the crook of her neck and felt her tense again as he spilled into her.
He lay down on her, gasping. She twirled a finger in his hair. “I cannot believe I was going to go my whole life without ever experiencing that.”
He looked up at her, “I thought I would be alright without it, but now I think that I agree with you. I want more.” Ignacio began to kiss her as his nimble fingers stroked a few new areas of her body to see what would happen.
Taja’s Dragon (Preview)
By: Lisa Daniels
Chapter 1
Nothing out of the Ordinary
Taja pulled the bundled-up items to her chest and tried to speed up, despite the crowd around her. The market was always impossibly busy at this time of day, and the acting stable master knew it. Still, he had told her not to be late after giving her all of the chores. Hating that the real stable master had been needed at the noble’s country mansion for a few months to deliver two new foals and take care of them, Taja took comfort in the fact that it wouldn’t be much longer before he returned. She just had to hold out for another week or two and then everything would go back to normal.
Her blonde hair shone like sunshine, a few stray strands dangling beside her face as the young woman pressed forward. It would be her twenty-first birthday soon, but she had no expectations. The stable master was the only person in her life that actually seemed to care about what happened to her, and he would not be back in time. Not that she wanted to celebrate. The stable master had been like the father she had never known, so she just wanted him to come back so the nightmare that had been her job without him would end. One of the other stable hands had taken to harassing her in the stable master’s absence, and the acting master wasn’t about to do anything to stop the boy. Taja had plenty of experience keeping boys like that away, but it was wearing on her. That and her mother’s steady decline into the bottle. Taja didn’t feel sorry for herself. She just needed that one ray of sunshine back that had made life worth living.
Taja was not a tall woman, just barely over five feet tall. The first impression people had of her was that she resembled a large doll. Despite working outside, her skin was pale and soft. Her large brown eyes were surrounded by thick lashes that combined with her unnaturally yellow hair, hinting that she was perhaps not fully human. The perfect symmetry of her dainty features was striking, and it had gotten her into plenty of trouble when she was young. It was only after she met the stable master that Taja had calmed down and started trying to make a better life for herself. That had been three years ago. Until that point, she had been a complete mess, sleeping with any boy who would give her gifts and expensive items. Her mother had used her daughter as much as possible, turning expensive gifts into high debts with many of the taverns. The stable master had given the young woman something worth living for outside of her different types of abuse.
It was times like these as she was darting through the crowds that Taja was really thankful for being so small. She was able to more easily slip through spaces between people.
Still not fast enough. I’m going to be late. Her mind was already calculating her distance and current rate of speed. Moving her legs a little faster, she shifted to the outside of the crowd. It was risky, particularly since she would be moving so close to the carriages and horses, but it was the only way she was going to get through the crowd in time.
As soon as she reached the outside of the crowd, Taja’s speed more than doubled. With a grin on her face, the young woman hurried past the throng.
Click the link below to read the rest of the story and receive your copy.
Get Your EXCLUSIVE Copy of
TAJA’ DRAGON
CLICK THE LINK TO RECEIVE YOUR COPY